Montana World Trade Center program opens global market to Montana firms

Montana businesses now have an inside line on economic opportunities in the global market, thanks to an agreement forged by the Montana World Trade Center.

By BETSY COHEN of the Missoulian

The center, which is located at the University of Montana, was selected as a partner in the Global Trade and Technology Network, a federally funded program that works with select trade specialists in international markets to reach potential exporters, said Arnie Sherman, director of the Montana World Trade Center.

"It is an innovative and valuable program that will enable us to provide qualified trade leads from emerging markets around the world to export-ready companies here in Montana," Sherman said.

This is how it works: In-country specialists identify business opportunities in the four sectors of environmental/energy, medical/health care, information/communications technology, and agricultural equipment/technology. The leads are then matched to an database of industry needs in the United States. Participants in the program are notified by e-mail when an appropriate lead is identified.

Staff members at the Montana World Trade Center will help Montana companies monitor and respond to the network, and work to identify posted opportunities that fit with state businesses.

Although the network gives all state businesses the potential to grow through overseas contracts, Sherman believes Montana’s environmental-remediation companies will be the first to prosper from the new program.

"We have world-class expertise and technology in this state, particularly in our environment sector," Sherman said. Already, that expertise is being tapped by the Panamanian government to help rewrite the country’s mining and restoration laws, he said.

Montana companies will prosper from the network in ways they couldn’t before because it will allow small, specialized companies to form a consortium and compete against larger contractors, said Fraser McLeay, senior manager at the Montana World Trade Center.

"There are very large multimillion-dollar projects out there in developing countries that are being funded by organizations such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank," McLeay said. "This network will help Montana businesses compete for those projects, where historically they could not because they were too small and didn’t have access to the contract information."

Now that the network is running, Sherman said he foresees Montana businesses tapping into exciting trade opportunities, such as the flurry of preparations surrounding the 2008 Olympics in China.

"We are really excited about this new partnership," Sherman said. "Montana ranks 49th in export, and this one of the ways to boost that ranking."

The Montana World Trade Center is a nonprofit organization that helps businesses establish and strengthen their international commercial capabilities.

Reporter Betsy Cohen can be reached at 523-5253 or at [email protected].

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